Page 12 of A Wager With A Rake (Wicked Widows #32)

Theodosia should have known that was coming, and she cast him a leveling stare. “You are a wicked man. I don’t recall this game taking such a turn in our youth. Aren’t you supposed to dare me to jump from a tree branch or something?”

“Given the late hour and the brandy we’ve consumed, I think we are both content where we are at. Besides, need I remind you that you started this?” His tone was cocky, but he certainly didn’t appear as if he minded the turn of events.

She was well aware. And in truth, she didn’t mind either. Her entire body hummed with awareness, and her solo efforts in her chamber would prove quite satisfactory. “No reminder necessary.”

Theodosia picked up the wooden piece, fisting her hand around the shaft.

Her cheeks heated from the embarrassment she felt over what she was about to do, but when she glanced over at him and saw how his breathing had already turned ragged, she felt a sense of power come over her, unlike anything she’d ever felt before.

She wasn’t even touching him, and she felt she had full control over the man before her.

“I’m waiting, Tess,” he drawled, his voice low with a hint of pain.

She swallowed hard, her pulse quickening in anticipation and trepidation. The wood felt cool and smooth in her hand. Slowly, she lifted it to her lips, while her gaze never wavered from Court’s.

Pressing her tongue to the tip, she then swirled it around. Court’s breath caught, and she forced herself to keep her eyes fixed on his. She sucked more of the phallus into her mouth.

“Yes,” Court ground out, shifting in his seat.

Teasing him, she ran her tongue from the base to the tip and then set the apparatus back in the box, smirking at him.

“God, I need to win this bet,” he ground out. “Forgive me for saying so. It might make me nothing more than a devil, but I want you, Tess.”

He wasn’t alone in that, but she could never admit it, or she’d lose all of her resolve. “Perhaps you have erred, Court.”

“What could you possibly mean?”

“This”—she pointed to the wooden cock—“is quite large. I’m quite certain you wouldn’t compare.” She knew enough about the male ego to know that they took great pride in their cocks. And her husband’s cock certainly wasn’t as impressive as the wooden beauty Court gifted her.

Court scoffed, then his jaw clenched. “I assure you I more than compare to that,” he said, motioning toward the box. “Besides, I do not need to compete with a piece of wood. Just give in to what we both want, and you can find out for yourself.”

She bit her bottom lip, only debating for a moment if she was going to issue her next dare. After allowing all the good sense to leave her body, she spoke. “All right then, Court. If you’re so confident in what you say, I dare you to show me. Let’s see if you speak the truth.”

“Are you serious?”

“You can forfeit the dare if you wish,” she said, smiling at him sweetly. “I wouldn’t want to make you uncomfortable.”

He chuckled. “Oh, Tess,” he started. “I have no problem showing you, but if you end the wager once you see what I have to offer, that is on you.”

Her lips formed a flat line at his male arrogance. “I’ll take my chances,” she deadpanned. She was wanton for him, but the mere sight of the man’s cock would not have that great of an effect.

“Very well. Hand me your toy there.”

She pushed the box across the table to him, biting into her bottom lip as he stood and began unbuttoning his falls.

Her eyes grew wide when his erect shaft popped out, protruding in front of him. She didn’t even need him to hold up the wooden phallus to know that Court was larger in length and girth. The man hadn’t exaggerated.

Court smirked at her reaction and then grabbed the toy and put it near his own, looking at her for approval. “I think the difference is clear, but you tell me.”

She forced herself to maintain an unaffected expression. “You appear to be truthful.”

He gave his cock a couple of strokes, and Theodosia’s core reacted immediately. Her expression faltered as well. Appearing far too pleased with himself, he tossed the toy back into the box and tucked himself into his breeches before resuming his seat.

“My turn,” he said, his eyes fixed on her, almost predatory.

She swallowed hard, a combination of trepidation and excitement for what he might dare her to do.

“I dare you,” he started, speaking the words slowly to build the anticipation, “to allow me to use the phallus on you.”

Theodosia’s mind raced with how to respond. “Court—”

He held up his hand to silence her. “I won’t touch you in any way, other than with this.” He motioned toward the box. “Think of it as guided instruction for how to use it.”

“I know where a cock goes, Court.” But that didn’t mean she wasn’t on the verge of agreeing to his dare. Besides, they both knew she wasn’t one to back down.

“Do you decline the dare?”

She shook her head before her brain could allow her to consider any other notion. “No.”

Before she could even take a full breath, he was on his knees in front of her. And she cursed herself for starting the bloody game of dare to begin with because she had a feeling that what he was about to do to her would never be enough.

“Part your legs and lift your skirts,” he commanded. He grabbed the toy and watched as she did as he instructed, scooting herself to the edge of the chair to give him better access.

“Do you think you are wet enough?” he asked, looking up at her with so much fire in his eyes that she thought she might melt under his stare.

“I… I… think so.”

He held the wooden cock up to her lips. “Suck this to wet it a bit, to be sure.”

She narrowed her eyes at him, and he just gave her a one-shoulder shrug. “Unless you will allow me to inspect for myself with my fingers or tongue.”

As tempting as that was, Theodosia knew she already played with fire and the devil who lived there, and if she gave in, that would be it. Not giving in to him kept the wager alive.

Leaning forward, she wet the smooth wood by sucking it into her mouth, watching him as his eyelids went heavy with desire. She released the phallus and leaned back against the chair.

Court pressed the tip of the shaft against her, running it along her seam before pressing the head inside her opening.

He easily and slowly slid the shaft inside of her, watching her intently as he did so.

Continuing to push it inside, she felt when it hit a pleasurable spot she hadn’t known existed and cried out.

“That’s a good girl,” he praised. “Relax and enjoy it, beautiful.”

His words had an unexpected effect on her. She had been a raging bitch for so long. There had never been a single member of society who had complimented her or even truly wished to know her. Her parents were cold at best toward her, and her husband saw her as his property.

So even a few moments of being treated like she was special, deserving of the attention of the gorgeous man on his knees in front of her, was almost too much.

He withdrew the cock and pushed it in again at an angle, hitting her in that wicked spot that made her want to fly off the chair.

She moaned, gripping the side of the chair to keep from touching Court.

Resisting all of her instincts to pull him against her, to kiss him and relive what it felt like to be in his arms.

Court found a rhythm with how he worked the phallus, while something intense was building within her body, pulling her toward something she wasn’t certain she had ever experienced before.

“Come on this cock for me,” he ground out. “You have no idea how much restraint it requires to keep myself from touching you. I beg you to please lose this wager.”

She moved against his hand, feeling the heat of his knuckles when they lightly brushed her thighs and secretly wishing they hadn’t agreed that he wouldn’t touch her.

Theodosia’s breath became ragged, and she raced toward something so intense she thought she might explode.

Her fingers hurt from how hard she continued to grip the chair, and when she crested the ecstasy he had built within her, she shook and screamed his name before she could stop herself, undulating on the wooden toy to draw out every second she could.

Her orgasm overtook her entire body, even reaching to her fingers and her curled toes.

Court slowed the way he moved the toy until she stilled and sank harder into the chair, then withdrew it from her body.

She looked at him through her barely open eyes, heavy from how sated she was.

Her eyes immediately went wide as saucers when he ran two fingers along the shaft and then sucked them into his mouth.

“God, you taste like the most addictive honey, beautiful.”

“I didn’t know…” Her voice trailed off.

“Didn’t know what?” he asked, reaching for her skirts to help her cover her legs before coming to a stand in front of her.

“What you did. I have never climaxed that way.”

He eyed her curiously, and then his expression shifted to one of understanding. “When you touch yourself, you touch your pearl to achieve your climax.” It wasn’t a question, and he was correct.

She nodded.

“And you never… when you were married, I mean?”

She shook her head, grimacing.

“If your husband weren’t already dead, I might kill him. The least the old bastard could have done was ensure you were well pleasured.”

“I don’t wish to think of Dundas right now.”

Court flashed her a toothy grin. “I sure hope not. My ego certainly couldn’t handle the slight.”

“I believe we have had enough dares for the evening, though. I am for my bed.”

Court pulled her to stand, and to his credit, he stepped back so they maintained a respectful distance, even though she could see that something akin to a tent had formed in his breeches. He wasn’t unaffected by what had just occurred, and as wicked as it was, she loved that.

And then something else tugged at her heartstrings.

An emotion for the man before her who had been like a friend, and the brother to her best friend, and the most handsome man she’d ever seen in her life.

She wasn’t certain what to call it, but it ached within her.

And whatever it was would leave her broken and empty when they inevitably parted ways to go about their lives.